AtlantaHitDoc
Coaching and Loving it!
Coaches -
I need some suggestions for a list of questions I'm putting together to ask my eighth grade rec team to get them to think/discuss softball situations. During water breaks at our practice when girls are on the bench, the coaches want to be able to discuss situations or scenarios with them on what to do and why, basically get them thinking, so they can develop a true understanding of the game and not be robots and just wait for the coach to tell them to do something. Here's just a quick example off the top of my head:
You are a runner at 3B with less than two outs. The batter hits a routine fly ball to mid RF. It hits the RF's glove but pops straight up into the air and she catches it before it hits the ground. What do I do?
1. Go halfway and watch to see if she catches the ball and come back and tag if she does.
2. Come back to the bag so I can be ready to go once she catches the ball.
3. Come back to the bag, go when the ball hits her glove, but come back and re-touch when she actually catches it.
4. Come back to the bag, go when the ball hits her glove whether she bobbles it or catches it.
5. Listen to the coach and take all my cues from him.
The purpose, as you can tell, is to get some discussion going and to really educate girls on the game. Sometimes there might not be a clear definitive answer. Sometimes one answer might be better than another but both would work. Sometimes the strength/knowledge of the player on offense/defense would be the determining factor in what you do. As I said, we use this for educational purposes during breaks to keep the conversation from devolving into "girl chatter."
Any scenarios and/or ideas are welcomed and appreciated!!!
I need some suggestions for a list of questions I'm putting together to ask my eighth grade rec team to get them to think/discuss softball situations. During water breaks at our practice when girls are on the bench, the coaches want to be able to discuss situations or scenarios with them on what to do and why, basically get them thinking, so they can develop a true understanding of the game and not be robots and just wait for the coach to tell them to do something. Here's just a quick example off the top of my head:
You are a runner at 3B with less than two outs. The batter hits a routine fly ball to mid RF. It hits the RF's glove but pops straight up into the air and she catches it before it hits the ground. What do I do?
1. Go halfway and watch to see if she catches the ball and come back and tag if she does.
2. Come back to the bag so I can be ready to go once she catches the ball.
3. Come back to the bag, go when the ball hits her glove, but come back and re-touch when she actually catches it.
4. Come back to the bag, go when the ball hits her glove whether she bobbles it or catches it.
5. Listen to the coach and take all my cues from him.
The purpose, as you can tell, is to get some discussion going and to really educate girls on the game. Sometimes there might not be a clear definitive answer. Sometimes one answer might be better than another but both would work. Sometimes the strength/knowledge of the player on offense/defense would be the determining factor in what you do. As I said, we use this for educational purposes during breaks to keep the conversation from devolving into "girl chatter."
Any scenarios and/or ideas are welcomed and appreciated!!!
The girls seem to stay into it because of the competition factor. You could even have candybars for the winning team! HTH
